The Perseverance rover dropped a new sample tube on the surface of Mars on Wednesday,

Numerama

reports .

This is the 4th of 10 samples that the robot must deposit in order to create the “first sample deposit on another world”.

Although these tubes are left unprotected on Martian soil, NASA does not fear that they will end up buried or carried away by the winds.

The US space agency explained why on Twitter in late December.

“Mars is windy, but not like on Earth.

The atmosphere is much less dense there: about 1 hundredth of that of the Earth,” she said.

“The winds here can pick up 'speed', but they don't 'pick up' a lot.

In other words, the winds aren't strong enough to kick up anything but fine dust.


Just dropped off another sample tube!

This one's full of loose, sandy material collected from a nearby dune.

It's also my most recent sample, collected earlier this month.

👇 https://t.co/2YLJoMMw1W pic.twitter.com/9U7qScZyHF

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 30, 2022

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Relief samples

NASA also highlighted the fact that the Curiosity spacecraft, despite nine years of Martian explorations, continued to be recognizable.

Its surface is “dusty, but recognizable,” writes the agency.

Even the smallest components of InSight, the robot which has just completed its mission after four years of work, continue to be visible in the images.



“Not only do we expect the sample tubes to be uncovered, but I also document very carefully where I put them.

So, coming back to it later shouldn't be a problem, ”assures NASA by making the Perseverance rover speak.

As a reminder, these deposits constitute backup samples.

If the rover were unable to bring its own to the lander, two helicopters would then be tasked with coming to recover these samples within about nine years.

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  • Perseverance

  • March

  • Nasa

  • Space

  • Science